That isn't the reaction that Drizzt expected, but it is at least one that he understands. He can almost see the emotional walls go slamming up around the other drow, walls to protect him from the elation that might prove to be false. Jarlaxle doesn't trust him deeply enough, just as Drizzt does not trust him, to take the truth at face value.
Also, the way Jarlaxle's single eye bored a hole into him is quite frankly a bit terrifying. He's powerful in his own right, and a friend of his father, and now Drizzt feels extremely foolish for how be was acting a moment ago. Drizzt drops his hands away from him immediately as the question is asked, his smile fading as his mirth id stolen entirely. He steps back to give Jarlaxle room, and finds Guenhwyvar quickly at his side.
"Liminal Space," Drizzt says quietly. "It allows us to travel between worlds that we are often bidden to fix or prevent a calamity, although we are always somehow connected to Liminal Space even when we are away. We call these other worlds Jaunts, and truthfully this is likely a Jaunt instead of Liminal Space. Only Travelers, their spirit animal companions, and other animals generally exist there."
He pauses for a moment and frowns, looking a bit irritated. "If I look younger than you remember, then it is surely a Jaunt. In the last Jaunt, I reverted to a younger age. My clothes have also changed from my typical gear, making it even more likely."
Whenever that happens, it makes Zaknafein happy, because then he can even more strongly insist on Drizzt experiencing what is left of his childhood. The worst part about it is that Drizzt cannot find it within himself to argue properly. Zaknafein is simply too happy about it. Not that Drizzt is going to tell Jarlaxle of that. Or of Zaknafein's fussing about his appearance. Or of any of a dozen slightly to completely embarrassing things that happened to him since he started Traveling.
"I would not lie about Zaknafein, as the lies would be too painful to bear," Drizzt shakes his head at the notion, suddenly switching topics back to the first as his thoughts gravitate towards his father. "I love him too much, and he is too important to me to speak anything but the truth, especially to someone he marked as a friend. He was the one who told me as much."
As Jarlaxle as not yet told him that he was friends with Zaknafein from the time he was taken.
"Those that are in control of this world now, the Trumps, are capable of reaching across time and space and even reversing death to find Travelers. Bringing Father back from the dead would have been trivial for them, as they do it regularly for Travelers that die. Perhaps it was even that discussion between us about you that made the Trumps aware of you. It is certainly timely, considering that we only first spoke of you in the last Jaunt."
Drizzt knows he is talking a lot, but Jarlaxle knows none of these things, likely. It's best to get him up to date on the basics at least. Especially since he's got a healthy dose of skepticism right now.
"Father was taken when he jumped into the acid pits to resist Malice's will to kill me, as far as I can tell. It was his fear that he would kill me when we were first reunited, but his body is his own and his heart beats strongly." Drizzt's eyes fall to Guenhwyvar, stroking her fur, that memory still bringing pain even with his father returned to his side. "But I was not taken from the same time. For me, it has been six years since Baenre's attempt to take Mithral Hall, and I now sail on the Sword Coast. Or sailed. I am a Traveler now, no longer a sailor. Others complain about it, but with my father returned to me, I cannot complain so nearly as forcibly."
Father. He called him Zaknafein more often than not back home, but now Drizzt relishes being able to lay claim to his living father as his. Every single time he says it, his heart jumps and lets out a tiny note of joy. Father. Father. Drizzt can call Zaknafein "Father" to describe him to others and to his face!
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Also, the way Jarlaxle's single eye bored a hole into him is quite frankly a bit terrifying. He's powerful in his own right, and a friend of his father, and now Drizzt feels extremely foolish for how be was acting a moment ago. Drizzt drops his hands away from him immediately as the question is asked, his smile fading as his mirth id stolen entirely. He steps back to give Jarlaxle room, and finds Guenhwyvar quickly at his side.
"Liminal Space," Drizzt says quietly. "It allows us to travel between worlds that we are often bidden to fix or prevent a calamity, although we are always somehow connected to Liminal Space even when we are away. We call these other worlds Jaunts, and truthfully this is likely a Jaunt instead of Liminal Space. Only Travelers, their spirit animal companions, and other animals generally exist there."
He pauses for a moment and frowns, looking a bit irritated. "If I look younger than you remember, then it is surely a Jaunt. In the last Jaunt, I reverted to a younger age. My clothes have also changed from my typical gear, making it even more likely."
Whenever that happens, it makes Zaknafein happy, because then he can even more strongly insist on Drizzt experiencing what is left of his childhood. The worst part about it is that Drizzt cannot find it within himself to argue properly. Zaknafein is simply too happy about it. Not that Drizzt is going to tell Jarlaxle of that. Or of Zaknafein's fussing about his appearance. Or of any of a dozen slightly to completely embarrassing things that happened to him since he started Traveling.
"I would not lie about Zaknafein, as the lies would be too painful to bear," Drizzt shakes his head at the notion, suddenly switching topics back to the first as his thoughts gravitate towards his father. "I love him too much, and he is too important to me to speak anything but the truth, especially to someone he marked as a friend. He was the one who told me as much."
As Jarlaxle as not yet told him that he was friends with Zaknafein from the time he was taken.
"Those that are in control of this world now, the Trumps, are capable of reaching across time and space and even reversing death to find Travelers. Bringing Father back from the dead would have been trivial for them, as they do it regularly for Travelers that die. Perhaps it was even that discussion between us about you that made the Trumps aware of you. It is certainly timely, considering that we only first spoke of you in the last Jaunt."
Drizzt knows he is talking a lot, but Jarlaxle knows none of these things, likely. It's best to get him up to date on the basics at least. Especially since he's got a healthy dose of skepticism right now.
"Father was taken when he jumped into the acid pits to resist Malice's will to kill me, as far as I can tell. It was his fear that he would kill me when we were first reunited, but his body is his own and his heart beats strongly." Drizzt's eyes fall to Guenhwyvar, stroking her fur, that memory still bringing pain even with his father returned to his side. "But I was not taken from the same time. For me, it has been six years since Baenre's attempt to take Mithral Hall, and I now sail on the Sword Coast. Or sailed. I am a Traveler now, no longer a sailor. Others complain about it, but with my father returned to me, I cannot complain so nearly as forcibly."
Father. He called him Zaknafein more often than not back home, but now Drizzt relishes being able to lay claim to his living father as his. Every single time he says it, his heart jumps and lets out a tiny note of joy. Father. Father. Drizzt can call Zaknafein "Father" to describe him to others and to his face!